One of the more difficult plumbing jobs is the installation of drain pipes for a bath tub. This operation, while appearing at first glance to present no real challenge in terms of complexity, is typically complicated by at least two circumstances.
The first complication is the relative inaccessibility of the work area. More often than not, bath tubs are installed in confined areas. Access to the plumbing fittings is often provided by means of small openings located at or below the floor surface. The plumber must work from a prone position, bending around corners straining to reach and having difficulty seeing the area in which he is working.
The second difficulty often arises from the lack of a proper alignment between the opening in the tub and the drain pipe to which it must be connected. Frequently neither the tub nor the drain pipe can be moved to correct the alignment, the position of the tub being constrained by the positions of the bathroom walls, and the pipe being cast in concrete.
Offset pipe sections of various types which have been offered in the past to accommodate the lack of alignment are indispensible for coping with such a situation, but they do not in their presently available form offer any significant relief for the accessibility problem.
Because the drain pipes at the tub encounter relatively low water pressure, the pipe fittings may be hand tightened. Moreover, because of the cramped quarters which severely limits the use of a wrench of any kind, hand tightening may prove the only resort. Smoothly fitting plastic pipe and associated fittings have facilitated such hand operations, but serious difficulties remain because the slick surfaces of the pipes are difficult to grip, especially when the hands are greasy or wet from perspiration.
Any further improvement in the design or structure of offset pipes which provides even a little relief from these vexing problems will be welcomed by those who have experienced the difficulties.
The present invention addresses such an improvement in the form of an offset pipe that is more easily installed by hand under the prevailing circumstances.